St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Stawell

An image of a small pipe organ located at the rear of the church in St Patrick's, Stawell. The organ stool sits in front of it, and the pedals sit beneath the stool. The light from the church window streams in at the side. The organ was relocated to the rear of the church by Pipe Organs Victoria Pty Ltd.
In 2022, St. Patrick’s Church in the Gariwerd parish (Ararat and Stawell) underwent a substantial internal remodelling, including the relocation of the organ from the sanctuary to the rear of the nave. Pipe Organs Victoria provided consultation for and executed the relocation of the organ.
A photo of two organ builders moving the 1979 Laurie pipe organ at St Patrick's Stawell up the aisle to it's new location in the nave. The organ rests on wheels whilst the organ builders carry out some cleaning. The relocation was carried out by Pipe Organs Victoria.

The 1979 Laurie pipe organ at St Patrick’s Stawell makes it’s way up the aisle to it’s new location in the nave.

Owing to the small size and nature of it’s construction, we relocated the organ with minimal dismantling. While the pipework was temporarily removed, we addressed some minor repairs, including reinforcing the rackboard to correct a lean that had developed in the pipework whilst the organ sat in it’s sanctuary position. We also performed thorough cleaning and repaired wooden basses with opened seams. The pipework now sits vertically and all pipes are in excellent condition and speaking well.

Further works included the regulation all reed switches on the pedal contacts, replacing them as needed, resulting in significantly improved pedal reliability.

A composite photo showing on the left the pipes and internal mechanisms of the St Patrick's Stawell Pipe Organ carefully laid in the church whilst the organ undergoes relocation. On the right is a close up photo of an organ builder's hand carefully brushing down the mouth of some small organ pipes. These works were undertaken by Pipe Organs Victoria.

On the left – the pipework, internal mechanisms and winding, and the pedalboard laid out in the church whilst the organ was relocated. On the right – cleaning of the pipework

A before and after composite photo showing the pipes of the St Patrick's Stawell pipe organ after the rackboard repairs to straighten the orientation of the pipework. The insert photo shows the pipework before the works were carried out, they are on a noticeable lean to the side. The work was carried out by Pipe Organs Victoria.

Before and After. The pipework now sits straight and perfectly supported after reinforcement of the rackboards. The insert shows how far the pipes were leaning before the work was carried out.

A composite image showing organ builder, Kate Buttery, carrying out reed switch repairs to the pedalboard of the organ at St Patrick's Stawell. The image on the right shows organ builder, Philip Henderson, carrying out cleaning to the organ. The works were carried out by Pipe Organs Victoria.

Kate repairs the pedal board whilst Phil cleans the casework.

“On Sunday the parishioners were excited to hear the organ again.”
As the parish was undertaking major floor covering upgrades and painting, Pipe Organs Victoria provided guidance on the best protection of the organ during these works. We ensured that the selection of floor coverings minimised any impact to the acoustic requirements of the organ in the building, and special care was taken to shield the delicate mechanisms and pipework from dust and paint during the renovation.

The result of our works are a well-preserved and improved instrument, sounding extremely pleasant to the ear. In it’s new location in the nave, the improved egress of sound in the building is perfect for leading the congregation in worship. We are delighted to have been part of the musical life at St Patrick’s, and thank Fr Andrew and Jill for their warm hospitality whilst we were in Stawell.

An image of a small church pipe organ bathed in warm light. It stands on a polished wooden floor. An insert shows the same organ in it's previous location in the Sanctuary of the church. The relocation was carried out by Pipe Organs Victoria.

Before and After. The 1979 Laurie Pipe Organ in it’s new location at the rear of the nave. The insert shows it in it’s previous location in the Sanctuary.

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